It was late August 1939. Nature's glorious colors had begun to gradually alter Europe's picturesque landscape. For those graced with a window to peer through...the peaceful serenity of autumn was time for many to pause for reflective introspection.
But Adolph Hitler was poised to alter that landscape.
Tracks of Our Tears, the sequel to From Promise to Peril, continues to follow the fortunes of the glamorous Marta, a world-renowned German violin virtuoso, and her intellectually gifted, lifelong best friend, Anna, whose Jewish family has been destroyed by the Nazi Holocaust. Anna's prodigious intellect, and her deep connection to Marta's influential family has won her a false identity and an undercover role for German Intelligence. She, and an increasingly disillusioned group of high-ranking officers, begin scheming for Hitler's downfall.
Akin to moving chess pieces, this secretive collaboration skillfully establishes Hitler's confidence in them and over time, deceptively uses their influence to alter the course of the war. Despite their vastly different religious ancestry, the closeness between Anna and Marta is unshakable, inspiring their remarkable formidability to overcome the tyranny and violence surrounding them.
Meanwhile, a poor but precocious young adolescent named Julia, witnesses the genocide of her family during the German invasion of Poland. Instantly she becomes an orphan of war. Now being alone and innocent, but neither helpless nor defeated, Julia begins her inspirational journey. Relying upon keen insight and unshakable courage, Julia awakens her own inherent determination to not only survive her ordeal, but to impactfully avenge the unspeakable tragedy befalling her family.
This richly researched tale enfolds fascinating historical characters and incidents into its fictional storyline while painting a vivid and absolutely devastating portrait of WWII, wreaking havoc on Eastern Europe and its peoples. At the same time, however, it deftly weaves the threads of its narrative into a beautiful tapestry illustrating the endurance of the human spirit.
